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D-Day

June 6, 1944

Sixty-five years ago, on this day, allied forces - American,
British, and Canadian - began one of the largest operations of World
War II. At the time, much of Europe was in the hands of Nazi
Germany.

Early on that Sunday morning, 156,000 troops set out in 5,000 ships
and boats. They left from England and landed at Normandy. This battle
turned the tide of the war in Europe. The Germans surrendered in May,
1945.

Each year, veterans have returned to Normandy to meet old friends,
and remember the friends they left on the beach that cold Sunday
morning.

Louis Delevin, now 77, was mayor of Cricqueville-en-Bessin, a small
village in Normandy, near Le Havre. The first thing he did when elected
in 1989 was to build a monument to the US soldiers who served there.
The people of Cricqueville have never forgottten those days.

"If they hadn't come, where would we be today?", he asked.

The church in Cricqueville has a marble plaque that reads
"Christian, do not forget the American soldiers who risked and
sacrificed their lives for you along this coast on June 6, 1944".

Jean Castel, 77, is a historian of the war, and a former pilot. He
said, "People here never forget the Americans. For us, they were the
liberators."

Flag Day

In honor of Flag Day.
This is a sound clip from Red Skelton's TV show, sometime in the 40s.
He talks about how they said the Pledge when he was in school, and how
one of his teachers took the time to really explain it to the students.
It's as timeless now as it was then.

There are proper ways to handle and display the flag, and a proper
way to dispose of flags that are too worn to use. The traditions and
instructions are spelled out on The Flag of the United States
of America website.